China outbound M&A activities came to a freeze in the second quarter, dragging outbound dealmaking to USD 20.4bn (114 deals) in 1H19, recording the lowest value since 2011 amid uncertainty from the escalating trade war. Even Europe, the all-time most popular destination, saw less Chinese interest with a 64% decrease in deal value in 1H19.

Also known as digital currencies, with the best known being bitcoin, they use distributed ledgers known as block chains to track transactions. There are now hundreds in existence, as the currencies’ independence make them attractive to some users.

China Development Bank signed an agreement with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance and Planning in 2012 to offer $214 million worth of loans to the Moragahakanda project which is operated from Jan 2017. It is the second-largest water control project, a major infrastructure project for Sri Lanka's post-war reconstruction. It is expected to end water scarcity challenges in several regions, including Matale, Polonnaruwa, Vavuniya and Anuradhapura....

A Chinese-dominated Sino-Sri Lankan Joint Venture (JV) will be granted comprehensive control of Hambantota port — including its internal security — under a Framework Agreement signed this week between the Sri Lankan Government and China Merchants Port Holdings Company (CMPort), the Colombo-based Sunday Times reports.

Sri Lanka Friday signed a new deal to replace a controversial agreement with a Chinese company building a new city within Colombo to remove its freehold rights over reclaimed land after India voiced concerns over the agreement.

According to Xinhua news agency, Sri Lanka’s new government, which assumed office a little more than one year ago, is keen to make Colombo Port City (Port City) the financial hub of South Asia as well as an international offshore financial center.

For more than three decades, Sri Lanka's progress had been hampered by the civilian conflict between the Sinhala majority and the Tamil minority. The conflict erupted into full-fledged war when the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), claiming to represent the minority population, took up arms against the state. The LTTE was finally defeated in 2009 under then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa's leadership.

A rough estimate based on media reports shows China has participated in the construction of more than 10 overseas harbor projects since the start of Pakistan’s Gwadar Port project in 2002. China is anticipated to get more heavily involved in overseas projects to support the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” initiative.

This bilingual report, Regulating for Growth, gives a summary for 15 Asian countries and the UK and USA for comparison, detailing the state of the nations' media regulations.